Once Upon a Dream
by tentsubasa
Summary: An AruAni collection of adapted scenes from various sources both film and novel.


**I have various AruAni scenes floating around in my head that come from books and films. However, they're usually not extensive enough to make me want to adapt the entire thing. So, I thought instead of letting these ideas fall into oblivion, I'd create a collection of these scenes. As the title of the collection implies, most if not all of these will be fairytale-type stories.  
**

 **While a given book/movie may have more than one scene written for it, the scenes will likely not appear in chronological order, nor will the chapters be grouped together. Thus, please reference the (at times badly spelled and abbreviated due to space constraints) chapter titles for the book/movie and adapted scene. For those who aren't familiar with a given title, but want to read it anyway, I'll provide short summaries of the entire book/movie (including the ending) and some context for the adapted scene.**

 ** _Quest for Camelot_ : "Looking Through Your Eyes"**

 ** _Quest for Camelot_ summary** : An evil knight named Ruber tries to take over Camelot with a magic army of men fused with weapons. In the process, Excalibur is lost in a deadly enchanted wood, and Kayley, daughter of a Knight of the Round Table that Ruber killed, goes off to find it to save king, country, and her mother who is being held by Ruber's men. In the process, she meets Garrett, a blind former stable boy of Camelot who's turned hermit and has intimate knowledge of the dangerous forest. As they journey, they fall in love, destroy Ruber, and become Knights of the Round Table (both their dreams).

 **What's happened right before now** : Because Kayley (Armin) was freaking about not getting back to save her mother (his grandfather) in time because Excalibur isn't where they thought it would be, Garrett (Annie) didn't hear Ruber and his men approach and Garrett (Annie) gets critically wounded. Due to some quick thinking, Kayley (Armin) gets them to safety and apologizes saying that it was her (his) fault Garrett (Annie) got hurt.

 **"Looking Through Your Eyes": youtube…com/watch?v=pHDkmINbefQ**

* * *

"Armin…." She reached out and touched his face. Yes, it hurt, and she probably would've been able to sidestep the stupid arrow if he'd shut up for two seconds, but beating himself up about it like this wasn't going to help her get better. She needed him to be calm. She needed the botanist, the healer…her quick-thinking friend.

Surprise flitted through her as she touched him. His skin was so soft. Even with being beaten by the elements while trailing after her these last few weeks, his cheeks were smooth. Her fingers became curious as they gently mapped out the planes of his face. He had delicate features, but with a strength she'd come to know intimately. If she were a normal young girl, she'd probably have thought him a prince.

"A-Annie…?"

"It occurred to me that I've never seen you before," she muttered laboriously.

He turned his face away with an expression she could only call shame.

She forced him to look at her again. She had to bring him back from his despair. "Armin, you're wrong. You have helped people before. You helped me, didn't you?"

"Helped you?" he cried in anguish, his fingers skimming near her arrow wound and making her hiss. "How was this helping you? Because of me, you…." He choked on a sob.

"Look at the sky. Tell me, what do you see?" she said suddenly. Both of them seemed taken aback, but after a slight pause, she decided to just see where this went. "Just close your eyes and describe it to me." Her voice gentled. "The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight. That's what I see through your eyes."

She felt his lips curve up slightly, acknowledging her attempt at cheering him up, and her heart flooded with hope. "I see the heavens each time that you smile." Her hand pressed against his chest and felt life pulse against her, steady and sure. "I feel your heartbeat just go on for miles, and suddenly I know why life is worthwhile. That's what I see through your eyes." Only then did she realize what had come out of her mouth and clear her throat uncomfortably. "That's…what I see through your eyes."

"Annie? Wh-what are you saying?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted, beginning to draw back.

He quickly covered her hands with his and held them in place. She'd never been like this with him before, so unguarded. It frightened him and made him feel like he was burning, but he'd never forgive himself if he let this moment escape. He wanted… _more_ of this Annie.

"Have-have you ever been in love, Annie?"

She snorted, "Except for being in love with the idea of becoming a knight when I was younger, no. Being crippled and living in solitude inside a deadly enchanted forest doesn't exactly encourage suitors."

"Did you ever hope to be?"

"Those childish dreams died with my sight."

"So you have no hopes of ever finding love?" he murmured softly, caressing her fingers against him.

She averted her face. "Isn't that what I said?"

"Not exactly."

She grunted in disagreement.

He looked down at the clever, nimble woman he'd admired from the start. "I think you're wrong to think that, and that you could have it if you'd be willing to accept it."

Her tone was flat and skeptical. "Really?"

He cupped her face and beamed; he'd heard the almost non-existent lacing of shy hope. "I didn't expect this at all, but if you care for me too, then there's no reason to pretend I feel otherwise."

"You seem rather sure of feelings I haven't professed."

"You have. Many times now, you've shown it to me in the way you've watched out for me despite calling me a hindrance. You've expressed it in the subtle encouragement you give when I'm unsure of myself and the faith you've put in me and my plans. And when they don't turn out, you don't blame me for it, you help me to move past it. And just now, when I needed help, despite being in pain yourself, you told me how you felt about me; you lowered your guard for me." He ran his thumb over her cheek. "You don't know how happy you've made me."

"You're crazy," she scoffed, cheeks flushed with color.

He chuckled; he hadn't even gotten started. "Here in the night, I see the sun. Here in the dark, our two hearts are one. It's out of our hands; we can't stop what we have begun." He pressed his lips to her palm. "And love just took me by surprise, looking through your eyes."

He quickly set to work cleaning and dressing her wound with the purple healing plants Annie had off-handedly shown him before. "I see a night I wish could last forever. I see a world we're meant to see together, and it is so much more than I remember." He shook his head for a second, "No, not more than I remember, more than I have _known_."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Here in the night?"

"I see the sun."

"Here in the dark?"

"Our two hearts are one." He took her hands in his. "It's out of our hands. We can't stop what we have begun. And love just took me by surprise looking through your eyes."

"Looking through your eyes," she mused almost inaudibly.

He settled himself next to her on the rock and threaded their fingers together. He thought the phrase was fitting. He regarded her thoughtfully for a long moment. "Annie…may I see your eyes?" He wound his fingers unthreateningly into the knot of the scarf.

"…Okay…."

"Thank you," he whispered. Bit by bit, his trembling fingers unraveled the knots until the cloth fell slack and her flaxen hair tumbled down. As the scarf fell away, her sightless eyes opened quietly.

He gasped. Blue. So blue. Like the spring sky or a pool formed from the purest water. "You're beautiful," he breathed.

She stared at the cave ceiling sadly. "Thank you."

"What is it?"

She smiled bitterly. "What use are beauty and rank to a cripple?"

He brushed a lock of sunlight behind her ear. "Don't call yourself that. You fight better and move more gracefully than just about anyone I know with all five senses."

"You really mean that, don't you?"

He nodded fervently. "I do. I think you're just as good if not better than any Knight of the Round Table."

She leaned against his shoulder. "Thank you…you don't know how much that means to me."

* * *

 **Sappy, I know, but this is probably one of my favorite songs from the movie. "The Prayer" is probably hands-down the best song from _Quest for Camelot_ , but I always enjoyed this one too. (^_^) The part about Armin/Kayley saying Annie/Garrett is just as good as any knight in Camelot is in a different scene, but I was never much of a fan of how quickly those plants healed Garrett, so I scooted it a little.**

 **If you have scene suggestions, let me know and I can look into it.**


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